


Nights With You

by fandomsandxfiles



Series: Files From the FBI's Most Unwanted [14]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, F/M, MSR, collection of ficlets, references s2-s11
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:35:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28762686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsandxfiles/pseuds/fandomsandxfiles
Summary: They have keys to each others’ apartments, but oddly enough, they don’t always use them to get in.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Series: Files From the FBI's Most Unwanted [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2020487
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	Nights With You

The first time it happened, she almost shot him when the door opened. Mulder had a key to her apartment, so she didn't expect him to pick her lock to get in, and she definitely didn't expect him to show up right before she went to bed. She was glad she didn't shoot him, because she didn't think he'd ever let that go if she did. She had just barely returned from the hospital, still recovering slightly from her abduction, so she was still a little on edge. 

"Oh God Mulder," she said as the door swung open, lowering her gun. "What are you doing here?" 

"I needed to see you," he said softly. "I couldn't sleep." 

"Did you just pick my lock?" 

"Yeah, and?" 

"Don't you have a key?"

"Oh," he said. "I do, don't I?" 

Her expression softened, because she had never seen him like this. "Alright," she said. "I guess I can forgive you for breaking into my house this time." 

She put on a pot of coffee, and they settled into the couch. "When are you coming back to work?" he asked. 

"Soon," was her answer. "I still have to get medically cleared, but it shouldn't be more than a week or two." 

He gave her a small smile. "I'll definitely miss you," he said. 

Miss me?" Scully was confused. "Do you have a new partner I don't know about?" 

"You're coming back to the X-Files?" he asked, dumbfounded. "I thought you'd transfer out, to a department that's safer."

"Mulder, it's going to take a little more than that to scare me off the X-Files," she said. "And until then, you're stuck with me."

His smile was instantly brighter. 

***

Scully didn't drink often, she never had. But sometimes it couldn't be avoided. Tough cases, especially ones that involved children, often rattled her more than she could admit. She never told Mulder about her worries and woes, even though he asked fairly often. Maybe it was the Irish in her, maybe it was the military upbringing. She kept her emotions close to her heart, and it took a lot to get her to open up. 

But after a particularly rough time in her life, after Emily came and left so quickly, Scully couldn't help herself. She started to break down. There was a bar close to the office, she knew because Mulder would occasionally drink there. And one day after she left work, she turned in there. She didn't drink often, and she thought she could hold her liquor. 

But when you'd barely eaten all day, you get drunk much quicker. She drank quicker too, trying to soothe the pain in her chest, the sorrow, the feeling of grief and loss and the cruelty of the universe for placing what she wanted more than anything so close in her reach. Soon, Scully was way past where she wanted to be, far too drunk to drive home, and all she could think to do was call a taxi. She gave the driver Mulder's address without even realizing it. 

Drunk and alone, she stumbled up to his door and reached down for the key. But her key chain was in her car, because she had accidentally locked her keys in when getting her wallet. All she had was her phone, her wallet, and some cash. Mulder slept like the dead, and she didn't even know if he was home. So she started to pick the lock. 

When the door swung open, it was like deja vu, but this time the roles were reversed. Mulder was standing there, gun raised in her direction. "Scully!" he said as he realized who had just broken in. 

"Mulder," she slurred slightly. "Can I sleep here tonight?" 

He ran over to her, supporting her when she started to stumble. "Yeah," he said. "Let's get you laying down." 

He didn't ask her why she showed up to his apartment at 11 o'clock, drunk and falling asleep, but she had a nagging feeling that he knew anyway. 

***

She was much slower now, because she was pregnant. It was just something she had to get used to, one of the many changes in her life. And most of the time it didn't really cause a problem. Until she dozed off on the couch and woke up to hear the lock on her door clicking. She barely had time to register what was happening when the door opened, Mulder standing in the doorway. 

"You've had a key for how many years now, what will it take for you to use it?" she said instead of a greeting. "You scared the hell out of me." 

"I forgot my key in the car." 

"So go get it." 

"Thought you'd seen a ghost, huh?" he said with a smile. 

He meant it in jest, but the fact that he used to be in a casket and she had watched his burial still haunted Scully. "Mulder-" 

"Sorry," he said, putting his hands up. "I brought food, if you'll let me stay." 

"I'd always let you stay," she said, and then there was a moment of silence. "What kind of food?" 

"Sandwiches?" 

She heaved herself off the couch and raised her eyebrows at him. "Well I guess you can stay then." 

They ate quietly, but the silence was comfortable. "What are you doing here Mulder?" She finally asked him. 

"I couldn't sleep," he said. "And I wanted to see you." She had been on his mind every moment since he had woken up, if he was being completely honest. 

Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but she felt herself start to tear up. She didn't have the heart to be mad at him any longer. 

***

She still had the key to the unremarkable house, she felt its weight every time she picked up her keys. She wanted to go back, thought about it more often than she would ever admit. Sometimes she made it all the way out to her car before turning back, sometimes she didn't make it out the front door. Mulder was her home, but she didn't feel like she could return just yet.

They were spending more time together now, back on the X-Files. She was spending more time with him outside of work too, but every time she set foot in the house, she only felt like a guest. Most times, she didn't even take her shoes off. The house was still technically both of theirs, even though only Mulder lived there now. And it was never him that made her feel unwelcome. 

This night was different than all the other, because this time she got in the car and started driving. It was well past midnight, but she couldn't sleep. She almost turned around so many times, but she kept driving. Soon, it was looming before her. 

The closer she got to the house, the harder it was to take the next step. She almost didn't even use her key, because she didn't feel like she deserved to have one. If she wasn't worried about what was waiting for her, she would have picked the lock, just like Mulder used to do to her apartment. But after what felt like ages, she finally turned the door handle and stepped inside. 

Mulder was just barely asleep on the couch, until he saw the door open. He heard the key click in the lock, and he knew who it was. They were both silent as they locked eyes, Scully looking sheepish as she shut the door. "I couldn't sleep," she said quietly. "And I was wondering if I could stay here tonight?" 

Mulder got up and walked over to her, wordlessly pulling her into a hug. She reciprocated, laying her head on his chest. "Yeah, you can stay here tonight," he said. "You can stay forever if you'd like." 

And for the first time in a long time, they both slept soundly. Together. 

_\- the end -_


End file.
